an interesting take on the world's creation stories and their gods, I found it a little dry in moments but the passion the author
has for the topic shines through here.

Fascinating and well written, an enjoyable read for those with an interest in history and mythology.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download this book before it was archived and so am leaving this as a review/explanation as I didn't know what else to do after finding a few books I had managed to miss in a section of my account entitled Not Active: Archived, Not Downloaded; so I thought it best to clear it up. I have already bought a copy and will leave a review on places like Amazon, Goodreads, Waterstones, etc, once I've completed it and formed my thoughts on it. Apologies for any inconvenience and thank you for the opportunity.

This was a collection that I had high hopes for - I always enjoy mythology and wanted to learn more about mythology that isn’t purely Greek given that before now that was pretty much all I knew of. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book as much as I hoped, it takes a bit more of a textbook tone, feeling a bit more formal and stilted when telling the stories of myth.

While this wasn’t my favourite mythology book, I enjoyed the wider geographical spread that is featured, especially as so often mythology books are focussed on one small region at a time - so would recommend to anyone looking for a wider scope of myth.

Come here for a host of snap-shots of the world's thinking, as we gander everywhere and across time, from creation myths to the end of it all. Well, that's not true, for we start with Ragnarok, which – while based in part on the first steps of the Norse myth is very much about the end and re-beginning. Next it's to the Popol Vuh and the faltering attempts of the creator gods to get humans right. Before we come back to the early days – the flood of Gilgamesh – we encounter dramatic monsters, daring lovers with holes in walls (don't ask auntie google on that one) and Herculean labours. We see how the Roman lore was a fire stoked by Greek myth, and how some of these stories must have come about because of a certain daring spider.

The book is great at editorialising about the tales – giving the context, the references we need to understand when and how these works were first brought to life. It's less wonderful at telling the stories, which too often seemed to be in the same voice – a touch awkward with, for example, the Dreamtime, as we see the Australian creation myths briefly, before dropping out into something less narrative and more discursive. Ragnarok is bluntly the seer's report of it all, and not even a word is given about how Odin then spent his life ignoring the prophecy's set-in-stoneness and his efforts to cancel the future it set out for him. Orpheus' story breaks off at a mid-point to discuss why Ovid made sure to tell us he likes boys when he couldn't have his wife.

But this wasn't ever likely to be the most flowing volume ever, patchily taking us from this legend and that founding myth to that dramatic quest. And nothing is done particularly badly, either. This kind of book has been done for decades – I am sure I would have seen some way back when I was at school – and here, pitched at the young teen, and certainly made a strong PG by some activities of a certain Cyclops – this example is not too shabby at all. I did think, as I say, a touch more storyteller could have come in here to differentiate the stories from the context, but this has to be a decent three and a half stars.

I am an absolute sucker for mythology and love any chance I get to explore more of it. I grew up on Percy Jackson and have a good knowledge of Greek, Roman, Norse and Egyptian mythology. However I absolutely love learning about mythologies I am not familiar with. I love the variety shown in this book, Maori, Indian, Mesopotamian, Mayan etc.

Mythology is always so interesting and so fun to read, not only are the stories great, but you often see the inspiration for movies, shows, books, and even songs that the artist has taken from mythology!

I love how the book groups myths by themes rather than grouping them by place of origin. It is always nice to see different tales that share similar characteristics.

I like the approach of providing both the story of the myth and contextual information around the history of them! It is always nice to understand the time period and the background of when myths really began to take hold!

A beautiful collection of myths and legends from around the world that deserves its place in classrooms everywhere.

This is a beautiful collection of ancient stories from all around the world, stories that have been passed down through generations by word of mouth, song, writing and still survive to this day.

So if you love the folklore, myths and legends of days gone by you will love this collection of tales from that spans time, cultures and continents and curates some of the most historically significant stories that all attempt to answer very human questions; where did the world come from? What happens after we die? Are there Gods, trickers, and monsters? What drives us to go to war?

Along with some beautiful illustrations and a very accessible layout and an understandable way of retelling the stories in a quick, campfire story style that might not have the detail you’re used to in fiction, but tells us all we need to know about legendary stories while staying as true as possible to original references and also providing some factual context around the story and it’s origin. This was so much fun to read with plenty of stories I was already familiar with and some new ones I got to experience for the first time.

History lovers, mythology lovers and just all round story lovers definitely should check this out!